The 0-8 Knights will be now under the rule of quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett after the mid-season retirement of George O’Leary.
He was chosen over offensive coordinator Brent Key – who had remained an assistant coach under O’Leary for 17 years and is scheduled to be paid a $700,000 bonus in the wake of not being named the heir apparent at head coach.
Barrett is buoyed by extensive head coaching experience in the Canadian Football League, serving as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach from 2000-2006. The Roughriders had only one winning season during his time atop the coaching hierarchy, though they did manage three .500 seasons and actually won the Grey Cup in the season immediately following Barrett’s departure from the team. The Roughriders were 57-68-1 in all during the Danny Barrett era.
Prior to the head coaching gig in Saskatchewan Barrett had actually made a career as a player in the CFL from 1983 until 1998. His 15 year career culminated in 23,419 passing yards, 1,656 completions and 133 touchdowns with four different teams.
It is not only in the CFL that he has established himself as a respected football presence, however. Barrett starred at the University of Cincinnati as a player in the early 80’s and actually served as the interim head coach at the University of Buffalo in 2009, though only in a transitionary role as the university searched for a new head coach in the offseason. He never coached a game as HC in that timeframe.
This was Barrett’s first season as UCF’s quarterback coach after serving as the running back coach from 2011-2014. All-Conference running backs Latavius Murray, Storm Johnson and William Stanback were direct results of his coaching style.
The Boynton Beach native will meet with the media Monday afternoon in an introductory press conference.
